"Robert-Brown-Elliott" (August 11,1842-August 9,1884)

Reconstruction politician and U.S. Congressman,was born probably in

Liverpool,England,of West Indian parents whose names are unknown.His early life is shrouded in mystery,largely because of his own false claims,apprently he did attend a private school in England (but not Eton as he claimed)  and was trained  as a typesetter.It is likely also that in 1866 or 1867,while on duty with the Royal Navy,he decided to seek his fortune in America and and jumped ship in Boston Harbor,without,taking out citizenship papers.All that is known for certain is that by March 1867 Robert was associate editor of the South Carolina Leader,an African American-owned Republican newspaper in Charleston.Shortly there after he married Grace Lee Rollin,a member of a prominent South Carolina free African America family.The couple had no children.